Turbocompressor



United States Patent 3,199,772 TURBOCOMPRESSOR Rudolph LeslieLeutzinger, 1521 N. Holder, Independence, Mo. Filed Sept. 6, 1963, Ser.No. 307,165 2 Claims. (Cl. 230-116) This invention relates to thegeneral field of turbomachinery and in particular to an improvement inthe rotating components thereof, namely the turbine, compressor anddiffuser arrangements; in more particular, it relates to centrifugalcompressors having compression means mounted back to back with theturbine means, being separated by a wall on each side of which the flowis oppositely directed, said wall with attached compression and turbinemeans, rotating as a unit about the turbocompressor center line ofsymmetry.

An object of the invention is to develop high pressure ratios byexhausting a centrifugal compressor into a counter rotating blade ringassembly or, into a multiplicity of blade ring assemblies arrangedconcentric to each other and supported independently between outer airhearings to allow operation at an optimum blade angle. A further objectis to secure minimum weight and a high mechanical etliciency for torqueand energy transfer through a direct drive arrangement betweencompressor and turbine elements in both the equilibrating blade ringassemblies and the centrifugal impeller section. A further object is toutilize the inner compressor shroud or runner as a dual exhaust ductcontour and to minimize the heat loss by containing the turbine exhaustfluid in the interior passages. Finally, to provide for the maximumsimplicity, one arrangement is symmetrical about both the compressorcenter line and a radial plane normal to the center line to allowsymmetrical loading of the equilibrating blading and impeller.

One embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing in which theupper and lower sections of the impeller runners are unsymmetrical andact in conjunction with a single self equilibrating blade ring assembly,located radially outboard, and rotating counter and concentric to theimpeller. It is susceptible of obvious variations such as the additionof multiple blade ring assemblies, changes in relative contourgeometries and various bearing support arrangements.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the turbocompressor components with the uppersection of the impeller and blade ring assembly successively cut away toexpose the impeller vanes and turbo diffuser blading.

FIGURE 2 is a cross sectional view at the section of FIGURE 1, taken toshow the rotating compressor components surrounding the non-rotatingcentral exhaust duct.

The flow is admitted from a stagnation chamber through turning vanesinto the duel entry centrifugal compressor A, whose upper and lowersections rotate as a unit and are connected through the inner ring ofturbine blades K, said ring of turbine blades driving both the upper andlower sections of the centrifugal compressor, each section of saidcompressor consisting of forward facing vanes enclosed between tworunners, said runners being thin circular discs sloping outboard towardthe central radial plane and functioning to turn the flow from the arealdirection into a radial flow plane. Each section of the centrifugalcompressor impeller discharges into a set of counter rotating supersonicdiffuser blades C, each set of said blades being concentric and externalto the corresponding section of the impeller and being distributed in aring around the impeller periphery, said upper and lower diffuser bladesbeing connected end to end through a central turbine blade K such thatthe axis of a single three blade assembly is approximately parallel tothe engine center line around which the blade mounting rings I rotate.The upper and lower diffuser sections of the blade ring assembly exhaustradially and tangentially outboard.

A second flow is admitted or readmitted into the central turbine sectionaround the periphery such as the to flow in the reversed inboarddirection through the blading K consisting of the first turbine stage, aconcen tric blade ring, each blade of which is integrally connected toan upper and lower diffuser blade, thereby furnishing a direct drivebetween the turbine and compressor sections, which sections areseparated by the blade mounting rings I, said rings containingsufficient labyrinths to separate the out flow in thecompressor-diffusion section from the central inflow turbine passage.The labyrinths and labyrinth valves act to entrain and distribute theleakage flow through the integral blades. From the blade ring assembly,the flow passes inboard through the turbine blade ring K which drivesthe centrifugal impellers attached on each end and discharges into adischarge chamber 0 formed by the inner runner of the centrifugalcompressor and the center body flow divider L, which provides for twoaxial discharge orifices of varying capacity.

What is claimed is:

1. A turbocompressor consisting of a centrifugal compressor having innerand outer runners, being of the double entry two section type, upper andlower sections being connected and driven through a final set of turbineblades or vanes distributed concentrically around the periphery betweenupper and lower sections of the centrifugal compressor and attached tothe inner runners thereof, said runners being concentric discs extendingradially outboard from the compressor inlet and sloping outboard towardeach other and toward the central radial plane, there being two innerrunners and two outer runners provided to contain the vanes in both theupper and lower sections of the compressor, said vanes between runnershaving a curvature for turning the flow and discharging it outboardlyinto the upper and lower sections of a counterrotating blade ringassembly, said assembly comprising a central turbine section containingturbine blades, each blade set vertically between two vertically spacedinterior horizontal mounting rings, and joined at each end through saidmounting rings to two diffuser blades, upper and lower, mountedvertically between two vertically spaced exterior horizontal mountingrings and said interior rings, such that each integral blade, consistingof a central turbine section and its associated diffuser profiles, hasits longitudinal axis approximately vertical and approximately parallelto the compressor center line about which it rotates, the integralblades being distributed uniformly around the mounting rings, saidinterior mounting rings being parallel, self equilibrating andcontaining labyrinths for separating the outflow difiuser sections, topand bottom, from the central inflow turbine section, the labyrinthvalves acting to distribute leakage flow to the blade ring bearings, theblade ring assembly being free to rotate between bearings in theexterior mounting rings under the impulse and reaction transmitted toits central turbine blades by the inflowing stream, said stream beingdirected radially inboard through the interior blading of the blade ringassembly onto the counter-rotating turbine means of the centrifugalcompressor whose inner runners together with a center body flow dividerform an exhaust chamber for transforming the radial inflow into twoaxial, oppositely directed streams, being emitted, top and bottom, fromthe inner runners, said runners being connected to wall means, throughlabyrinth valves, for containing and utilizing said streams.

2. A multi-stage turbocompressor having centrifugal compressor meansmounted back to back with turbine means, being separated by a walldefined as the inner runner of the turbocompressor, on each side ofwhich the flow is oppositely directed, the inner runner with attachedcompressor and turbine means, rotating as a unit abount theturbocompressor center line of axial symmetry, the compressor meansbeing thin spiral type vanes enclosed between the inner and an outercompressor runner, said runners being thin circular discs sloping froman axial inlet lip, outboard, to a radial discharge section, a radialgap being provided for labyrinth type valves between the runnerdischarge ends and the mounting rings of a blade ring assembly, saidblade ring assembly consisting of three vertically spaced horizontalmounting rings, the inner ring together with the outer diifuser ringbeing disposed radially and concentric to the discharge end of thecompressor runners and containing a set of diffuser blades distributedannularly around the compressor discharge section, said blades extendingvertically between the rings and connected integrally on one end throughthe inner mounting ring to a set of turbine blades distributed annularlyaround the ring assembly and extending vertically between the innermounting ring and a terminal horizontal turbine mounting ring, such thateach integral diffuser-turbine blade has its longitudinal axisapproximately vertical and parallel to the turbo-compressor center lineabout which it rotates, the two outer rings being set in bearings, topand bottom, so that the assembly rotates freely, being selfequilibrating, under the impulse and reaction delivered to the turbineblading by an inflowing stream, said stream being directed inboard ontothe turbine means contained between the inner runner of the centrifugalcompressor and an outer turbine runner, the turbine runner being a disccontaining the turbine blade mounts and disposed radially inboard to theturbine mounting ring of the blade ring assembly, labyrinth beingprovided at outboard and inboard edges of the turbine runner, the latterfor connection to fixed wall means which, in conjunction with theaxially symmetric center body, transforms the radial inflow into a axialstream or two 0ppositely directed streams according to the verticalposition of the center body. 7

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2/60 Leibach60-3936 6/61 Pavlecka 2301l6 ROBERT M. WALKER, LAURENCE V. EFNER,

Examiners.

1. A TURBOCOMPRESSOR CONSISTING OF A CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR HAVING INNERAND OUTER RUNNERS, BEING OF THE DOUBLE ENTRY TWO SECTION TYPE, UPPER ANDLOWER SECTIONS BEING CONNECTED AND DRIVEN THROUGH A FINAL SET OF TURBINEBLADES OR VANES DISTRIBUTED CONCENTRICALLY AROUND THE PERIPHERY BETWEENUPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS OF THE CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR AND ATTACHED TOTHE INNER RUNNERS THEREOF, SAID RUNNERS BEING CONCENTRIC DISCS EXTENDINGRADIALLY OUTBOARD FROM THE COMPRESSOR INLET AND SLOPING OUTBOARD TOWARDEACH OTHER AND TOWARD THE CENTRAL RADIAL PLANE, THERE BE ING TWO INNERRUNNERS AND TWO OUTER RUNNERS PROVIDED TO CONTAIN THE VANES IN BOTH THEUPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS OF THE COMPRESSOR, SAID VANES BETWEEN RUNNERSHAVING A CURVATURE FOR TURNING THE FLOW AND DISCHARGING IT OUTBOARDLYINTO THE UPPER AND LOWER SECTIONS OF A COUNTERROTATING BLADE RINGASSEMBLY, SAID AISSEMBLY COMPRISING A CENTRAL TURBINE SECTION CONTAININGTURBINE BLADES, EACH BLADE SET VERTICALLY BETWEEN TWO VERTICALLY SPACEDINTERIOR HORIZONTAL MOUNTING RINGS, AND JOINED AT EACH END THROUGH SAIDMOUNNTING RINGS TO TWO DIFFUSER BLADES, UPPER AND LOWER, MOUNTEDVERTICALLY BETWEEN TWO VERTICALLY SPACED EXTERIOR HORIZONTAL MOUNTINGRINGS AND SAID INTERIOR RINGS, SUCH THAT EACH INTEGRAL BLADE, CONSISTINGOF A CENTRAL TURBINE SECTION AND ITS ASSOCIATED DIFFUSER PROFILES, HASITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS APPROXIMATELY VERTICAL AND APPROXIMATELY PARALLELTO THE COMPRESSOR CENTER LINE ABOUT WHICH IT ROTATES, THE INTEGRALBLADES BEING DISTRIBUTED UNIFORMALY AROUND THE MOUNTING RINGS, SAIDINTERIOR MOUNTING RINGS BEING PARALLEL, SELF EQULIBRATING AND CONTAININGLABYRINTHS FOR SEPARATING THE OUTFLOW DIFFUSER SECTIONS, TOP AND BOTTOM,FROM THE CENTRAL INFLOW TURBINE SECTION, THE LABBYRINTH VALVES ACTING TODISTRIBUTE LEAKAGE FLOW TO THE BLADE RING BEARINGS, THE BLADE RINGASSEMBLY BEING FREE TO ROTATE BETWEEN BEARINGS IN THE EXTERIOR MOUNTINGRINGS UNDER THE IMPULSE AND REACTION TRANSMITTED TO ITS CENTRAL TURBINEBLADES BY THE INFLOWING STREAM, SAID STREAM BEING DIRECTED RADIALLYINBOARD THROUGH THE INTERIOR BLADING OF THE BLADE RING ASSEMBLY ONTO THECOUNTER-ROTATING TURBINE MEANS OF THE CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR WHOSE INNERRUNNERS TOGETHER WITH A CENTER BODY FLOW DIVIDER FORM AN EXHAUST CHAMBERFOR TRANSFORMING THE RADIAL INFLOW INTO AN AXIAL, OPPOSITELY DIRECTEDSTREAMS, BEING EMITTED, TOP AND BOTTOM, FROM THE INNER RUNNERS, SAIDRUNNERS BEING CONNECTED TO WALL MEANS, THROUGH LABYRINTH VALVES, FORCONTAINING AND UTILIZING SAID STREAMS.